I was just curious how everyone on here felt about this. I believe from what I heard that freeing this man was completely wrong because he was a alleged deserter and most importantly we negotiated with terrorists. I am a lifelong democrat but I lost faith in this president and his weak and reckless foreign policy.
Key word in all this: alleged. I think a lot of the political fallout is from the fact it was a democrat president that authorised this, whereas if a republican president had done this it would have been hailed, by those same people, as another Argo. That's just how polarised politics is in America these days. It does strike me as odd that the people held in Gitmo are supposedly highly dangerous and high ranking members of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, yet none have been charged with anything or put on trial. What's the hold up?
First, alleged is the important word here. Also, his disillusionment with the US occupation is understandable, and the US army would have provided no help to ease his conscience which were not open lies. US military policy would have its blame if his desertion were indeed deliberate. Second, a life is a life. Returning him to safety is important, even if conventional morals must be broken. Third, terrorist is a very arbitrary definition; the US military could be designated as such, and the Taliban, for all their engagement in terrorism, are nonetheless a political body who can be reasonably negotiated with; peace negotiations with the Taliban are vital to Afghan stability, especially after the end of occupation. Calling them terrorists and refusing to deal with them ignores that they must be treated as a viable regional power if they are to be dealt with at all. Reckless foreign policy comes with killing more civilians than terrorists (again, the application of the word is pretty arbitrary, so who they are in the first place is questionable) in drone strikes more than with this. This shouldn't be considered such a great scandal in the light of other events. Until full documentation is released (which will be a long time in the future, assuming no leaks), we will have to keep an open mind. It may have been incompetence, but remember that no leader acts alone; an army of diplomats and military advisers will have had input into this - it won't have been recklessness on the part of one man.
New documents show that he declared Jihad and fraternized with the Taliban in 2010. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt and withholding judgement, until now. He's a traitor... EXCLUSIVE: Bergdahl declared jihad in captivity, secret documents show | Fox News
Take any media with a grain of salt. Take Fox News with an ocean of it, especially when they have an enemy to discredit.
I know James Rosen (the author of the article) personally. He's one of the most fair and honest reporters in the business!
That's really not a valid argument. That's a positive ad-hominem and a personal anecdote as valid as saying that Bergdahl couldn't do what's alleged because you knew him before.
Well I don't know about you, but I trust Fox News. They're an excellent source for news. They've pretty much become the new CNN in the day, with prime time "opinion shows". Obviously you have to look at ALL media sources objectively, but in my opinion, Fox is the least biased when it comes to covering the news. Several studies have confirmed this (Pew Research is one of the most notable organizations that conducted a study with such findings).
That is very true. But one president's mistake does not justify another's president's mistake. Even some democrats hate what he did in not telling them about the deal beforehand.
My advice; don't read US news from US sources. And I really hope you're joking when you call them the "least biased." They call Obama (very much a conservative and capitalist in most respects), a socialist or even communist, have open support for the Republican party, and use emotionally laden words in literally every sentence.
Oh yeah, I don't dispute that this deal wasn't completely kosher as far as not telling Congress was involved and they're entirely right to kick up a fuss about this. That aside, I do believe that a lot of the anger from the American right is because a Democrat did it. I mean I was reading stories on Right Wing Watch where this was being held up as proof that Obama is a Muslim and has connections to radical Islamist groups. There's an interesting comparison that can be made to the way Israel handles prisoner exchanges. Their's tend to be far more lopsided with some deals even being done just so they can get remains of IDF soldiers back. Gilad Shalit for example, was exchanged for 1027 Palestinian prisoners and that was after Hamas had been argued down from the release of all female and underage Palestinian prisoners plus Marwan Barghouti. I'm aware that the IDF being primarily a conscript force may influence things but I still think it's interesting to look at.
LOL! Maybe Hannity does, but EVERYONE knows that his show is a conservative talk show. You should watch their daytime programming. Shep Smith (a gay anchor btw) is awesome! Really good with breaking news. It's all REAL NEWS. You should watch it sometime! There's a reason why they're Number 1! They're American home for Fair and Balanced news.
Someone drank the Kool-Aid :lol:. I actually can't stand most news outlets. Fox does have a slant and CNN too (what bothers me most is their blatant orthographical errors :roflmao. For "the facts," I stick with Reuters or Agence France-Presse. Most everything else, well, I take with a grain of salt. As for Shep Smith, the whole giant iPad computer screens in "Shepard Smith Reporting" sort of bug me :lol:. CNN is not free of these errors, either. Actually, I know what bothers me most about cable news: news outlets now feel that a 24 hour cycle must be filled in its entirety and that leads to very poor reporting and yellow journalism practices of speculation and incendiary material to draw their viewers. On Bergdahl, well, I'll wait for a full investigation to see what is up with him.
Based on the press reporting he is guilty of violating at least 3 articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and possibly one of US code. I will list them at the end of this post. First I don't think the exchange was done the right way, but it was done. We absolutely should have brought PFC Bergdahl home (He was a private first class E-3 When he allegedly walked off his guard post, and was promoted twice while absent). If he was collaborating with his captors, bringing him home lets us investigate and try him as appropriate. If he is innocent of all charges then he should keep the rank of SGT, and be given the choice of continuing to serve or honorable separation from service. Now that he is free from the Taliban, the military should investigate, and if there is enough evidence, try him in a court martial. I think he should be perceived as innocent until proven guilty, and I trust the US Army to do the right thing here. The violations that I have seen in the press that he may be guilty of are: Article 92: violation of a lawful order (First General Order "I will guard everything within the limits of my post, and quit my post only when properly relieved.) - Shall be punished as a court marshal may direct Article 86: AWOL (Absent Without Leave)- Shall be punished as a court marshal may direct. Article 85: Dessertion - Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct. 10 US Code 904 Art 104: Aiding the enemy(possibly) - shall suffer death or such other punishment as a court-martial or military commission may direct.
I think way too much attention is being paid to this. Not to sound apathetic, but I could care less. Leave him alone. So he walked away from a stupid war, under weird pressures. Take a chill pill, and move on to bigger problems, is my advice to the right-wingers out there.
The key word in all of this is alleged. I'm glad we're bringing him home, traitor or hero. Also, FOX News is far from being unopinionated or unbiased. They said his dad looked like a Muslim, but I'm pretty sure if you give him a duck call and a bandana, he'd be Phil Robertson.
The UCMJ may list death as a possible sentence for desertion, but the 2012 Manual of Courts Marshal limits punishment to a prison term, dishonorable discharge, and total forfeiture of pay. To go higher, Obama has to suspend the limitation. I just can't see that happening.
